Isn't it all about a risky discernment, or is it?

It is very rare that I post in this blog in English. It is even more rare that I post quotes: why would I post a quote that I have not written and that I can just link to?

This time, I'm compelled to post this excerpt from "Certain as the Dawn" by Peter Van Breeman, S.J., written more than 35 years ago (colors and bold characters are mine)

A little parody expresses the same idea in a more satiric way. A traveler lost his way in the desert. Parched by the sun, he sees an oasis in the distance. "Ah," he thinks, "a mirage that is trying to delude me." He approaches the oasis but it fails to disappear. Clearly he sees the date palms, the grass, and even a spring. "Nothing but a thirst-illusion conjured up by my mind which has gone crazy! Such are the fantasies of one in my predicament. Projection! I even hear the sound of bubbling water. An audio-hallucination, no doubt. Oh, how cruel nature is!" A short time later two Bedouins find him dead. Said the one to the other, "The dates are almost dropping into his mouth, and yet he starved; the water from the spring runs at his side, yet he perished from thirst. How is this possible?" Answered the other, "He was a modern man who died from fear of projection."

Though exaggerated the tale has a point. The fear that God might be nothing but an indulgence of romanticism or an escape from life's hardships exists. Sometimes we also meet the conviction that belief in God is a cheap tranquilizer in frustrating moments or a bit of putty to fill up a gap where the mind falls short. The point often overlooked is that this fear of projection can have depressing and stifling effects.

Certain as the Dawn (book search from AddALL.com)